Party for council candidates

Local Republicans and the Laguna Beach Taxpayers Assn. hosted a party Wednesday at the Marine Room Tavern for candidates of their persuasion.

Shari L. Freidenrich and City Council incumbent candidates Kelly Boyd and Elizabeth Pearson, as well as challenger Emanuel Patrascu attended. Laguna Beach Republicans President Amy Kramer introduced the candidates.

Freidenrich has been endorsed by Laguna Beach Treasurer Laura Parisi and a host of elected or former officials at local, state and federal levels.

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"I need you guys to vote," said Freidenrich, the first candidate to speak. "We need to make changes or I am afraid we are in trouble."

Frendenrich said she is the only candidate who is a certified public accountant and the only one who has handled significant amounts of public money. She has been the Huntington Beach treasurer for 14 years — and boasted that she had never lost a dime of taxpayers' money.

She was invited to the event by Republican Frank Ricchiazzi.

Ricchiazzi also provided the vittles — pizza, of course, and a cake — and "thereby hangs a tale."

"I ordered a cake at Vons — Pavilions — and said I wanted it [frosted] to say 2010 A Republican Year," Frank said. "I even wrote it out — in English."

As he was leaving the store, he said it occurred to him that Pavilions is a union shop and the employees might get upset when they saw the word Republican. He wondered what they might do. He found out when he picked up the cake.

To his consternation, the word Republican was misspelled.

"I went to the manager and told him I wasn't paying for the cake, but I am taking it," Ricchiazzi said.